Switch for elevated trolley-tracks.



V. WAGNER.

SWITCH FOR ELEVATED TROLLBY TRACKS.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.14, 1912.

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OLUMB A PLANOURAPII ca. WAMIINGTON. n. c.

V. WAGNER SWITCH FOR ELEVATED TROLLEY TRACKS.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG.14, 1912.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor.- WQ'jb we'fed' w :qy MW W {@4221 ell'btor'rneg8,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPN CD" WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrron,

VICTOR WAGNER, .OFlWATERLOO, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO DREW CARRIER, COM-1 PANY,; OF WATERLOO, WISCONSIN, A. CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

SWITCH FOR ELEVATED ,TROLLEY-TRACKS.

new and useful Improvements in Switches for Elevated Trolley-Tracks, of which the following is a specification, reference being a had to the accompanylng drawing, formmg l a part thereof. v

The main objects of this invention are to avoid angles or turns in the track lines, to provide for the use of straight stretches of flexible wire or cable track with inflexible curved sections and switches, and generally to improve the constructionand operation of devices of this class.

It consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as herein after particularly described and pointed out in the claims."

In the accompanying drawing like characters designate the same parts in the several figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of athree-way switch embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is vertical longitudinal section of the same on the line 2-2, Fig. 1; Fig.3 is a vertical cross section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a plan view of apart of the cords and pulleys for operatingthe switchgates.

The switch in its preferred and most complete design, comprises a supporting frame which may be conveniently constructed as shown, of a metal angle bar 1,3bentinto U-. form, and of flatmetal cross bars 2, 3 and 4:, the bars 2 and 3 beingbolted to the upper side and the cross bar 4 to the under side of the angle bar 1. The cross bar 2 serves as a guide rail for a slide 5, consisting of a metal angle bar loosely confined: on said rail by angular keepers 6, permitting of a limited vertical movement as well as a lengthwise movement of the slide relative to the guide: A mam track section ,7 and branch rail. track sections 8, 9 and 510 are suspended from said supporting frame by otlsetmetal: The mam track section 1s sushangers 11. pended and supported from the center of the cross piece of the angle bar ,1 at one end of the frame, and the branch track sections 8, 9 and 10 are suspended from the cross bar 4 at the opposite end of said frame.

Horizontally swinging switch Specification of Letters Patent.

gates 12, 13. .and l lare pivoted atone end to the proxi- Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

Application filed August 14, 1912. Serial N o. 714,954. y

mate ends of thebranch track sections 8, 9; and 10 respectively, adjacent to their supporting hangers 11, and are movable at their 1 free ends into line one at a time, with the main track section 7. The several switch gates are suspended and supported adjacent 1 to their free ends by hangers 15, like or similar to the hangers 11, from a transverse connecting and shifting bar 16. The bar1 16, which is preferably made of metal and of angular section, is connected with the slide, 5 i by upwardly projecting arms 17 and rods 18, secured in the upper ends of said arms a and transversely thereto, the rods 18 passing loosely through and being movable lengthwise inpthe=vertical limb ofthe angle bar. slide, so as to permit of lateral and angular movement of the bar 16 relative to the slide.

The main and branch track sections and 1 the switch gates, and particularly the sta-.

of tubular or hollow form and longitudilnally slotted in the under side, and are practionary track sections, are preferably made tically rigid or inflexible, but they may be made of solid form and of any suitable sec tion. The hangers 11 and 15 are formed at their lower offset ends with upwardly projecting cylindrical bosses or enlarged lugs 19, which fit into the hollow track sections and gates and confine them in place thereon. p

The lnner end of the mam track section 7 with which the movable ends of the switch gates are brought into alinement, is provided with a step bearing 20, concavcd 0r; recessed on: the upper side to receive and hold the end ofthe gate which is turned into register or alinement with the main track section, the gates being loosely pivotedto thebranchisections 8, 9 and 10 and capable of a slightvertical movement in order to shift, them into and out of engagementwvith said step hearing, The tubular slotted con struction of the main and branch track sectious aflords convenient means for connecting imalinement with their outer ends, rigid or inflexible tubular track sections of like construction, or flexible wire or cable track which is used in connectionwith automatic dumping and return carriers. 1

The switch is suspended bodily fromqa ceiling, overhead frame work orother support, bymetal straps 21, riveted or boltedat 1 their lower ends to the vertical limb of the angle bar 1. The switch may be made with.

two or more gates, as required. In a three way switch like that'shown in the drawlng,

the middle ate 13 is preferably and ordinarily straiglit, whilethe two outer gates 12 and 14 are preferably and generally curved, as shown in F ig. 1. In a two-way switch both of the gates may be curved, or one of I them may be straight and the. other curved,

according to the relation of the branch tracks to the main track.

then .the switch is accessible from the floor or ground the gates may be shifted by hand or with apitchfork or other similar implement, but when it is located too high to be accessible for direct manual operation,

it is provided with connections leading to an accessible point for shifting the gates.

In a three-way switch as shown by the drawing, three inverted .T-shaped levers 22 and 23 are pivoted or fulcrumed at the junction of their arms to the vertical limb of the slide 5 with their. cross arms normally restingupon the upper side of the guide rail 2 and their middle arms extending upwardly therefrom, as shown in Fig.3. A lever 24 is pivoted or fulcrumed between its ends to the middle arm of the lever 22 above its fulcrumor pivot connection with the slide 5, and is connected on opposite sides of and equidistant from its pivot or fulcrum connection with said lever 22 by links 25, with the upper ends of the levers 23.

Operating cords 26 and 27 passing horizontally around pulleys 28, mounted on an upwardly projecting arm 29 of the switch supporting frame, have their inner spans fastened to the upper ends; of the levers 22.

and 24 respectively and pass over guiding pulleys 30, located on the opposite side of Zthe switch from the pulleys 28 to some accessible and convenient point where their ends are provided with handles 31, as shown in Fig. 3.

The cross arm of the lever 22 is formedv with lateral projections 32 and 33 of difshifted to the right, and clears the stop lug 34 when the switch is shifted to the left, the stop lugs 34 and 35 being arranged out of alinement with each other in the direction of the length of the guide rail 2.

-To block the branch tracks and prevent the @carrier or trolley from running off when the v corresponding switch gates are open, laterallyswingingstop rods 36 are pivoted at their upper ends to', the cross bar 4 above the several branch track sections 8, 9 and 10,

and normally stand in a vertical position, obstructing the pathofjthe carrier orftrolley. toward and adjacent to the corresponding switch gates 12, 13 and 14. The pivot pins at the upper ends of the stop rods 36 are formed or provided with crank arms 37, projecting normally upward into the path of one arm of a horizontal lever 38, which is fulcrumedbetween its ends on the cross bar 3. The other arm of the lever 38 is longitudinally. slottedv and engages with a crank arm 39 on the connecting and shifting bar 16. I

3 In the operation of a three-way switch as herein shown and described, the middle gate 13 being in alinement with the main track section? and connecting it with the middle branch track section 9 which is cleared by the stop rod 36, .while the other branch I track sections 8 and 10 are blocked by the. corresponding stop rods 36, if it is desired'to connect the branch track section 8 with the main track section 7 the switch. gates. are shifted to the left, as shown in'Fig. 3, so as. to carry the gate 13 out of alinement and the gate 12 into alinement with the main track section 7, as indicated by dotted lines on Fig. 1. This is accomplished by the operator pulling the inner spanof the cord 27 toward the pulleys 30, or tothe left, as shown in Fig. 3. The effect of this is first to turn the lever 24, as shown in Fig.3, to the left, into a position oblique to the middle arm of the lever 22, thereby through the links 25 tilting the levers 23 one to the left and the other tothe right, and lifting the slide 5 together with the lever 22, the shiftingbar 1,6, hangers 15 and gates 12, 13 and 14, bodily. The middle gate-l3 is thus moved upwardly out of engagement with the step bearing 20, whereupon the slide 5 with the.

several parts suspended therefrom, includingthe several switch gates, is shifted to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, until the advanceend of the slide 5 engages the adjacent side of the angle bar 1 and thereby arrests the lateral movement of the gate 12 directly 3 over the step bearing 20. The cord 27 be-.

ing npw released by the operator, the slide 5 q and the switch gates suspended therefrom, descend by gravity, the free endofthe gate 12 dropping into engagement with the step bearing 20 and into alinement with the main 1 track section 7 and the levers 23 and 24- re-' sumingtheir normal positions. If now it is desired to shift the switch back to its'former position with the middle gate. 13 in alinement with the main track section 7 the in? ner span of the cord 26 attached to the lever 22 is drawn towardthe pulleys 28, or to the right, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby first tilt ing the lever 2201; its pivot or fulcrum coir nection with the slidev 5 to the right, shown in Fig. 3, and lifting its longer projection 32 out of contact with the guide rail 2, and then shifting said slide to the right, as shown in Fig. ,3, till the shorter bearing20. The cord 26 beingreleased by the operator, the gate 13 drops by gravity into engagement with said stepbearingand into alinement with themainstrack section 7,. and the lever 22 resumes its normalmposi tion.

If when either of the outer gates 12 and 14, for instance, the gate12, is in; register a with the main track section 7, it is desired to shift the switch to its other extreme 1position so as to carry the :gate 14 into engagement with the step bearing 20 and into alinement with the main track section 7 the inner span of the cord .27 is drawn by the operatortoward the pulleys .28, or to the right, as shown in Fig.3,thercby first tilting the lever24 tothe right, as shown in Fig. 3, into a position oblique to the middle arm of the lever 22 and through the links 25 tilting the levers 23 so as to lift the slide 5 and the parts suspended therefrom; as hereinbefore explained. The lever 22 being thus lifted with the slide 5, so that both of its projections 32 and 33 will clear the stop lugs 34 and 35, the slide15 is drawn by a continued pull onthe cord 27, to the right,

as shown in Fig. 3, till the advance end of the slide engages with the adjacent side of the angle bar land thereby arrests the.

lateral movement of the switch gateswhen the gate 14 is directlyover the step bearing 20. The cord 27 being now released, the gate 14 drops into engagement with said step bearing and into alinement with the main track section 7 and the levers 23 and other stop rods being: held by gravity in their normal positions and blocking the other branch tracks whose switch: gates are open. a

From the foregoing explanation it will be understood that by like or similar manipulations of the operating cords 26 and 27 any of the several gates 12, 13 and ltmay be shifted from any positionof the switch into engagement with the stepbearing 20 and into alinement with the main track sec tion 7 ,the branch track whose gate is closed, being at the same time cleared, while the other branch tracks whose gates are open, being blocked by the stop rods 36.

In some installations of the switch, the

operating cords may be connected directly with the shifting bar 16, and the slider) with .the levers mounted. thereon may be omitted; and when the gates are accessible: for operationiby hand. or with a pitchfork or other 1 implement, both the cordsand pulleys and the slide 5 with its attachments, and even the metal supporting CEIEJTIC, may s be omitted;

Various changes in. the details of construction and arrangement of parts other thanthose specifically mentioned may be made without departing fromthe principle and I scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. a

I claim: a a

1. In aswitch for elevated trolley tracks, the combination of stationary track sections, horizontally movable and connected switch gates, one 10f which iscurved, each pivoted 35 3 at one end respectively to the proximate ends of said stationary sections, and an other stationary track section into end reg: ister with which said gates are adapted to be turned,one at a tim t 2. In aswitch for elevated trolley tracks, the combination of stationary track sections, switch gates each pivoted at one end respectively to the proximate ends of said sections and adapted to swing horizontally thereon, .95 I a longitudinally movable operating bar 10- cated above and transversely tothe movable ends of the gates and connected therewith by hangers, and. another stationary track;

section into end register with which said switch gates each pivoted at one end respectively to the proximate ends of said sections and adapted to be swung horizontally there- I on, a longitudinally movable connectingand l operatingbar located above and transversely to the movable ends of the gates and con-.110. nected therewith by hangers, another stationary track section into end register with which said gates are movable one at a time, pulleys and operating cords guided on said 5 pulleys and connected with said bar for 115. shifting the same in opposite directions.

4. In a switch for elevated trolley tracks,. the combination of branch track sections, switch gates each pivotally connected at. one 1 end respectively with the proximate ends of 1120. said sections and adapted to be swung'hoii zontally thereon, a main track section with which the movable ends of the gates are: adaptedto be swung into engagement one at;

a time, a guide rail located above and trans- Tslevers fulcrumed on said slide with their.

cross arms normally parallel and in contact with [said :guide "rail and their middle armsi extending upwardly therefrom, a -lever fulcrumed on the middle armof the middle T- lever and connected by links equidistant; from its fulcrum-above and below the same. with the middle/arms of=theother T-levers; stops on said guide rail, lateral projections on the cross arm of the middle T'-lever". adapted to coeperate with said stopsto limit the -movementofthe middle switch gate in either direction in position toengage with; the unain track section, and operating'cords; connected with theupper arms of the middle;

. pivoted at one end respectively to the proxi:

T- lever and of the-lever imounteclthe'reon.

5. In a switch for elevated trolley tracks,

the combination of branch track sections,

horizontally swinging switch gates, each pivoted at one end vrespectively to the proXimate ends of said sections and capable of end into engagement with which the -1novable ends of thegates are adapted to be swung horizontally and vertically one at a *time, a guide rail located above and transversel-yto the movable ends of the gates and provided with stops, -a slide mounted on and movable lengthwise of said rail, across bar connected with the -movable ends of the gates and havingtransverse slip connections 1 with said slide, T-levers fulcrumed on said:

slide withtheir cross arms normally parallel and'in contact with said. rail and their.

middle arms extending upwardly therefrom,

lever jfulc'rumed on the-middle arm of .the

middle T-llever and connected by links with the middle arms of the other T-levers, the' cross arm of themiddle T-lever having lateral' projections adapted to cooperate with said stops to arrest the movement of the middle switch gate in either direction in po-l sition to engage with the main track section, and operating cords connected with the upper arms of the middle T-lever and of the lever mounted thereon.

6. In a switch for elevated trolley tracks,;

the combination of branch track "sections,a

horizontally-swinging gates each pivoted at: one end respectively to the proximate ends of said sections, the outer gates being curved horlzontally in opposite dlrectlons, a, mam

track section intoend register with which said gates areadapted to be swung one at a: time, and a longitudinally movable operating bar located above and connected with the movable ends of the gates.

,7. 'Inaswitch for elevated trolley tracks,

the combination of a number of tubular branch track sections and a tubular main track section, all longitudinally slotted in the under side, oflset hangers for suspend ing-said track sections from an overhead support'and Shaving upwardly projecting vertical movement at their free ends, a main j track section having a recessed step at one.

Ebosses fitting the bore of said tubularzseo itions and confinin'g them in place thereon,

the outer ends'of the tubular sections be-@ iing :open for the. connection in alinement itherewi-th of other track sections and "la t.-

gerally swinging vgates each :pivoted at :one lend respectively to the proximate ends ofv the branch track sections and movable into end register withthe main track section.

I 8. 'In asw-itchjfor elevated trolley-tracks, the combination ,of a number of branch ltrack sections, a-main ftracki section and horizontally swinging switch gates each mate endsof the branch track sections and movable at their free ends into. endregister A cated above and transversely to said gates,

and offset hangers for suspending the track movable ends of the gates from said connecting and shifting bar, and having 'upiwardly projecting bosses on their lower ends inserted and confined in the bore of said track sections and gates.

9. Ina switch for elevated the combination of a number of branch track sections, a main track section, gates each pivoted at one'end respectively to the proximate ends of the branch track sections and movable at the other end one at a time] trolley tracks,

I 5 sections from an overhead support and the into line with the main track section, means for shifting said gates, movable stops nor= mally blocking the branch track sections,

and means operated by said gate shifting;

means for movingyand holding said stops out of-operative position, and clearing the branch track whose switchis in: lineiwith the main track. i p

10. In a switch for elevatedtrolley'tracks, the combination of a number of'branch track sections, a main track section, horizontallyswinging gates each pivoted at one end respectively to .the proximate ends 0f the branch track sections and movable at the other end one'at a time into line with the main track section, a transverse 'shift ing bar connected with said gates, movable stops normally blocking said branch track sections, and a lever connected with said.

shiftingbarandadapted to moveand hold out of operative position, the stop of that branch track section whose gate is in line with the main track sectlon.

In witness whereof I hereto aifix'my1s1gnature in presence of two witnesses.

VVit-nesses:

VICTOR WAGNER.

OBRIEN, EDW. A. PETERS.

- copi es ofvthiskpatent may be obtained for five cents eachgbyacidressing' the Commissioner of ratents, 7

Washington, 13:6. I 

